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In A Valley of Violence

Paul, a lone drifter who wanders into the forgotten town of Denton, Texas dubbed by the locals as the valley of violence. There, he picks a fight with the wrong man, Gilly, the troublemaking son of the town's unforgiving marshal. As tensions arise between Paul and Gilly, an inevitable act of violence starts a disastrous chain reaction that quickly drags the whole town into the bloody crosshairs of revenge. Can the world weary Marshal stop the violent hysteria?

Westerns have been making an over-due comeback -- this with Ethan Hawk taking yet another interesting & diverse role as he tends to do, and for this alone it is worth seeing. IMO the remakes of True Grit and The Magnificent Seven were substantial modern installments -- this piece is wrought with action, darkness, & edginess, perhaps containing more of a dramatic presence than Grit or Mag7, and it definitely stands to be put beside these as modern Westerns. This feels similar to some of the Clint Eastwood westerns.

Low key western finds a drifter getting mixed up with a small town, an obnoxious type, and the stalwart marshall who wants him out. Its a bit slow to begin, but it quickly builds up to a terrific showdown in this simple and satisfying revenge western. Ethan Hawke is really good and its one of Travolta's better performances as of late.